The Village of Montrose held a special meeting on December 11th to discuss comprehensive planning. Gisele Hamm of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) spoke to engaged community members and the Village Board about MAPPING; a strategic visioning and planning process where residents provide input to create a comprehensive plan for their community.
The Village Hall was packed with engaged residents. The Village committed to going through the MAPPING process and will do so in Fall of 2024. Multiple attendees voiced their name to participate on a steering committee. This committee will start meeting in January.
MAPPING, Management and Planning Programs Involving Nonmetropolitan Groups, is offered through the IIRA, housed at Western Illinois University. The process involves five 3-hour planning sessions. It is a tried-and-true process that many communities in Effingham County and the surrounding area have participated in.
Residents will assess their community’s status by diving into data and benchmarking themselves to similar communities. Following this, they will contemplate where they would like to be and strategize on how to get there. Residents will vote on goals and conduct research by examining best practices implemented in other communities. Action teams will then be established to set objectives and collaborate on achieving each goal.